The present invention relates to a milling cutter. More particularly this invention concerns an integral helical-tooth plain milling cutter.
A milling cutter is known having a plurality of helical blades separated by helical flutes and each formed as a row of teeth. It has been found that the use of sawtooth-shaped teeth with the teeth in each row being staggered axially relative to the teeth in circumferentially flanking rows greatly increases the material-removing capacity of such a milling cutter.
Typically, such a cutter has an axially directed end flank whih lies substantially in a plane perpendicular to the rotation axis of the cutter and a side flank which is inclined relative to this axis. The side and end flanks of each tooth meet at a sharp tip. On rotation of the cutter in its predetermined rotational sense these sharp tips are the first parts of the cutter to contact the workpiece. Consequently, the tips on such a cutter have a tendency rapidly to wear, thereby dulling the cutter. Furthermore, the cladding of such a cutter with a hard alloy or metal such as carbide or the complete manufacture of such a cutter out of a hard alloy or metal is virtually impossible with this formation.
Such a cutter also is normally urged axially by a component of a force when it contacts the workpiece. Such axial urging frequently can displace the cutter in the chuck holding it and, therefore, ruin the workpiece being milled, or at least make a sloppy cut therein.